5hake1t0ff

I like that interview, and I like John. It seems like some of the negative discussion assumes that Jeff was twisting everyone's arms and they didn't get an input. The way it sounds is even though there was a pretty specific template to dictate a different process, the other 4 guys got to really be imaginative in seeing what they could add.

 

I just love the first paragraph of that article. Seems to support the idea that the polarizing nature of OTJ might be suggestive of its greatness, which only time will tell.

 

And yeah, will the speculation about Jeff's tyrannical rule of "Wilco" and its potential fallout never end? The band is happy and excited to tour the new songs is just way too tepid a take these days...

Different fans, different takes: "I'll Fight" is one of the most forgettable songs in the catalog and "On & On & On" is one of the best. Would never call them a sequence other than being about death. For one, "I'll Fight" contains nothing like the "we're going to try..." crescendo. I'm in a minority on this one because it seems to get requested and played at live shows, but I sure never want to hear it. 

 

I think the back half of SBS is definitely weaker than the front side but it's not dramatic. "Leave You Like You Found Me" is the culprit because it all but kills the engine. All of the other songs on the back half hold their own and work for the record. 

 

On & On & On isn't as bad as I made it sound.  And I'll Fight isn't as good as I made it sound.  The civil war soldier writing home aspect of "I'll Fight" is pretty interesting, and I like the groove of it slightly more than the chamber-poppiness of On & On, but that's not my main issue.  It's the shared melody of the two songs that just hurts me every time I hear it, in either song. I would probably like On & On & On much, much more if "I'll Fight" never came along.  But we're well off-topic at this point...

Am I the only one who thinks SBS is half of an amazing album? While there's no "You Are My Face" moment that makes me look for someone to make a mix tape for so I can put it on there, OTJ is so much more consistent than a lot of their output to my ears. In fact, that makes it a better introverted cousin to Star Wars. It holds a certain focus, and there's no slipping up on the back half.

 

Yeah, I've always felt that way. SBS often loses me halfway through "Leave Me Like You Found Me"...no pun intended. Walken is one I skip through more often than not. What Light is just okay, and On and On and On is just waiting for its more interesting rebirth as "I'll Fight." OTJ is their most cohesive since AGIB, though I will say the cohesiveness is also what I like best about Star Wars and Schmilco.

OTJ seems to me like the first Wilco concept album since YHF - and in a somewhat parallel way.

 

YHF was playing with whether folk songs could interact with, withstand, piece through the noise of "The Conet Project" numbers stations. It created that feeling of defiance that love in times of wars - both internal and external - requires. And it nailed the post-9/11 zeitgeist, if unintentionally.

 

With OTJ, it's the "silver black boot that cracked my front tooth." The thuds of the boots on gravel. A totalitarian regime; or at least the march through what feels like a really bad dream. And here too, surviving terrors real, or dreamed, depends on the songs and their potential to sustain our purest emotions. Thanks again, Wilco.

My thoughts on Ode To Joy:

 

Enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing.

Turns out I fuckin love wilco dirges

Love is Everywhere also takes on some added life hearing it situated in the tracklist.

Yes. After We Were Lucky, which feels like an all night dirge in the vein of Tom Waits, Love is Everywhere is like the sunrise.

I'm going to clumsily try to express something I love about this album that I've missed in many of Wilco's most recent albums...

 

The first four songs to me seem like a cohesive whole.  I felt the same way - and it's hard to describe why - about the first 4 songs on YHF and the first 3 songs on AGIB...something about the songs picking up directly where the last one left off that I've loved and missed on the albums since.

 

Actually, I've loved most of the albums since and didn't realize I was missing that sensation until this one brought that feeling back.

 

I would also disagree with the sentiment that it sounds like Warm(er). Except for maybe An Empty Corner. Which is the last song, so I guess I can understand how that impression might get stuck with people.

Had the same thought. The first and last songs were more understated and mellow than the album as a whole, which might be why the Schmilco-esque Warm-esque impressions are being over-weighted in a lot of people's reactions.  Just a theory.

I think it's a pretty remarkable achievement for a few reasons.

 

...texture, harmony, dynamics and I think it created something that feels very nuanced and cohesive to me.

 

Yep. Great post. My impressions were very similar to many of yours.

To me, this album has so much more in terms of layers than Schmilco. I put it much closer to YHF that way. Maybe only slightly less dissonance and tension than YHF had, but only slightly. I think we'll look back at it quite differently than the general tenor many of the initial reactions I'm reading. Maybe this is because I listened at a higher volume than I do most music, but I found it pretty damn thrilling throughout.

Lots of interesting tidbits in this Stereogum interview: https://www.stereogum.com/2052900/jeff-tweedy-interview-wilco-ode-to-joy-portlandia-parks-and-recreation-nick-offerman-mavis-staples/franchises/interview/weve-got-a-file-on-you/

 

Yeah, wow. What a fun and fascinating conversation. The bits about the Loose Fur dynamic and Handshake Drugs were my favorite. Also optimistic that if Sammy says Ode to Joy is his favorite, it's going to be goooooood.

 

Thanks for sharing.

True. No other drummer would play what Glenn does on Cry All Day. The guitar textures on Common Sense are a perfect Tweedy/Cline matchup. John's basslines are as melodic as ever. And there's usually a solid 20-35% of what is making your ears happy that can later be identified as a Jorgensen, Sansone addition.

 

Right, that's exactly what I meant, put better than I could.

 

Now, all due appreciation of Schmilco aside, when that latest reviewer wrote "continuation of Wilco’s roiling of imminent threats and storms into deceptively pastoral folk and rock," I interpret the reviewer's point to be that it's more of a return to YHF & AGIB era form; at least of the "Radio Cures" "Ashes" or "Wishful Thinking" variety.  That's what that quote brings to mind for me and what I'm imagining for Ode.

***Tangent*** I hate the way Schmilco is written off as a Tweedy/JT catalog extension. To my ears, it's always been much more. Lower-energy than most Wilco, granted, but still full of craft and artistry from the sextet. Aw well.

I think this all sounds pretty positive.  I'm amazed at how the depth of Love is Everywhere opened itself to my ears with repeated listens. And I choose to interpret the Nebraska parallel as simply saying it was the more mature classic that followed the break-out classic (Born To Run/Being There). The comments Jeff has made about Glenn's experimentation with the drums assure me I won't be reminded of Nebraska.

 

Comparing Wilco's catalogue to that of the so-called Boss is not how I want to spend my time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Thunder Road is a pretty good song.